


Mother's Day

by trixwitch



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Established Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Love, Mother's Day, Pregnancy, Romantic Gestures, Smut, Swan Queen baby, Swan-Mills Family, parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-13
Updated: 2018-05-06
Packaged: 2019-04-22 12:17:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14308455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trixwitch/pseuds/trixwitch
Summary: Emma and Regina are married and are trying to get Emma pregnant, but it's taking a while. When Emma invites Regina out for a romantic Mother's Day brunch, Regina starts to suspect their lives are about to change.





	1. Chapter 1

Regina sat in her office, looking thoughtfully down at the day’s agenda open in front of her and definitely not thinking about work. It had been more than 6 weeks since the last time she and Emma had tried to get Emma pregnant. Regina frowned. She’d lost track of time, and Emma was usually the one who reminded her that it was time to get out the “glorified turkey baster,” as Emma insisted on calling it. Regina smiled to herself and rolled her eyes. She had flat out refused to touch her wife the first time she’d called it that, but eventually it became funny, and she had to admit she enjoyed getting the occasional text with a picture of turkey baster and no text and laughing out loud at the implication. She liked having private jokes between them.

Regina looked back down at the calendar. Well, maybe Emma wanted a month off from waiting and hoping. She could understand that. After five times through the process, it was certainly getting to be stressful. She leaned back in her chair. She really did want this to work. She hadn’t been sure when Emma first brought up the idea of having another child together, but now that she’d decided she wanted it, all she could do was daydream about what their little prince or princess was going to be like. She’d loved the time when Henry was a baby, and she was so excited to get to share that time with Emma. 

Regina’s phone rang, and she grinned as she saw it was in fact her darling wife calling her now.

“I was just thinking about you,” she said by way of greeting.

“Well that makes two of us,” Emma’s voice replied. “I want to take you out on Sunday. Would you prefer brunch or dinner?”

“Take me out?” Regina repeated, confused. “Emma, we’re married. You don’t need to ask me on a date.”

Emma laughed. “I know. But I want to do something special, and I want to make a reservation at that fancy place by the harbor. So brunch or dinner?”

Regina smiled in spite of herself. “Well, brunch I suppose. I want to cook something for lunches for the week on Sunday night.”

“Done.”

And with that, Emma hung up. Regina looked at her phone in surprise. Emma was up to something, obviously, but she didn’t have the faintest idea what. Well, she supposed she’d find out on Sunday. And not a moment before, either. When Emma was being cryptic like this, Regina couldn’t get anything out of her. Even when she turned the charm up to 11 or threatened to withhold sex (they both knew she couldn’t follow through on that one anyway), Emma could keep her mouth shut when she wanted to. Well, fine. It sounded like something good, so Regina would play along.

 

***

On Sunday morning, Regina woke up to the delicious sensation of Emma nibbling on her ear. She floated back into consciousness and hummed in appreciation of the little shivers that traveled down her spine. 

“Good morning, babe,” Emma murmured when she realized Regina was awake.

Regina sighed. “Good morning. This is a good way to wake up.”

Emma kissed her way down Regina’s neck, pushing her down onto her back and climbing on top of her. Regina closed her eyes and let herself lie there and enjoy the way Emma was touching her. She wasn’t always one for morning sex, but this morning her body seemed to be responding to whatever had gotten into Emma lately. They were always affectionate with each other, and had an active and interesting sex life. But the last week or so Emma had really taken it up a notch, hardly ever leaving Regina’s side when they were at home and practically pouncing on her the minute they got in bed. Not that Regina was complaining, but she had noticed a change.

Now she threaded one hand into Emma’s hair as her wife started to suck on her nipples, waking Regina’s body up fully. Regina scratched her fingers down Emma’s back and gasped when Emma bit down just hard enough on her breast.

“Emma,” she moaned. 

“Regina,” Emma whispered as she moved her mouth over to the other side. 

When Regina started to squirm under her, Emma took the hint and moved down her body, settling herself between her legs and nuzzling at her thighs with an adoring look in her eyes. Regina returned her gaze, smiling down at her with what she was sure was incredibly idiotic expression on her face. Somehow when they were exploring each other’s bodies like this, though, she just didn’t care. Emma let her be as soft and tender as she wanted without ever once taking advantage of it or expecting her to be that way in any other context. It was one of the things Regina loved most about her - Emma let her be different when it was just them, savoring the intimacy of it, in fact. 

Regina’s eyes closed when Emma’s tongue moved up to make contact with her sensitive folds, and she was soon lost to the sensations spiraling through her body. As she neared her peak, she reached out a hand and desperately sought out contact with her wife. Emma caught her searching hand in her own, holding on tight as she sucked harder, sending Regina into ecstasy with a loud cry. She pulled Emma up her body, kissing her passionately as she rode out the aftershocks of a surprisingly good orgasm. 

Emma peppered light kissed on her cheeks, her eyelids, her forehead, anything she could reach, making Regina giggle with delight, another thing she would never admit to anyone else that she did, but which felt so good to do with Emma. She caught Emma’s proud grin, and grabbed her waist.

“Come here, you,” she growled, intending to turn them over and reciprocate.

But Emma stopped her, shaking her head.

“No time,” she said, climbing off of Regina. “You need to go take a shower and get dressed so we can get to brunch.”

Regina raised her eyebrows at her. “Since when did you turn down sex to get someplace on time?”

“Since I decided to be responsible. Now get up,” Emma replied, swatting her lightly with one hand.

Regina grumbled, but got up, pressing a searing kiss onto Emma’s lips on the way to the bathroom, just for good measure.

When she walked in the door, though, she stopped in her tracks. On the counter was a vase filled with red and purple flowers and a little white placard that read “Happy Mother’s Day.” Regina turned around to find Emma grinning at her from the doorway.

“What’s this?” Regina asked.

Emma shrugged. “It’s Mother’s Day, so I got you flowers.”

Regina smiled, but something prickled at her attention.

“Are we going to Mother’s Day brunch?” she asked.

Emma laughed. “Don’t make it sound like something awful. Yes, we are. Because we happen to both be mothers and even though our son isn’t here to take us out, we deserve to celebrate. Now get in the shower. You smell like sex.”

Emma walked out of the bathroom, leaving Regina flustered, suspicious, and embarrassingly turned on by Emma’s authoritative manner this morning. But she dutifully showered and got dressed, and pretty soon they were on their way to the restaurant.

 

The first clue that Regina had been right to think that Emma was up to something was the way the hostess positively beamed at them when they arrived. She knew the girl - it was a small town, everybody knew everybody - but something in the way she looked at them made Regina think that she was in on whatever Emma was planning.

The hostess led them to a table out on the covered porch near the water, where Regina found a single red rose sitting on each place setting. Emma grinned at her as they sat down.

“This is quite the romantic gesture, Swan,” Regina teased, picking up her menu. “If we weren’t already married I’d think you were about to propose.”

She felt rather than saw Emma’s smirk, and rolled her eyes as she scanned the menu. It was filled with cutesy names for things, all involving the word “mother” or “mom.” It was all a little much, but also exactly the kind of thing Emma loved. They placed their orders and fell into easy conversation about goings on around town. 

When the waiter came with their food, though, Emma sat there looking at her expectantly, and Regina saw that along with her omelette and fruit there was a little felted pair of baby booties on the tray. The waiter placed them in the center of the table, next to the roses, and grinned at them as he left. Regina gave Emma a withering look.

“Don’t you think this is a little over the top?” she asked. “Even for Mother’s Day brunch.”

But Emma just shook her head, the radiant smile never leaving her face.

“Nope,” she answered. “It’s exactly the right amount of over the top for Mother’s Day brunch.”

She dug into her own food, leaving Regina once again feeling flustered and like she was missing something.

They ate mostly in silence, commenting on the food or the view occasionally. As Regina gazed at the little red and purple booties in the center of the table, her heart suddenly skipped a beat as everything added up in her head. Romantic gesture. Mother’s Day. Big thing in their lives that maybe Emma had some news about. She gasped out loud and looked up at her wife, who seemed to see that she’d put the pieces together. 

Emma reached into her bag and wordlessly pulled out an envelope. She handed it to Regina, who took it with shaky hands. Opening it up, she found a simple postcard inside with a date written on it: “December 16, 2018.”

Regina held her breath and looked up. “Is that…?” 

“Yes!” Emma interrupted. “My due date. I’m pregnant.”

“Emma,” Regina breathed, and leapt out of her seat to pull Emma up into a tight embrace.

“We’re having a baby,” Emma said into Regina’s hair, and at that Regina started to laugh and cry at the same time.

“We’re having a baby!” she repeated, and pulled back so she could kiss Emma with as much love and care as she could.

When they finally sat back down again to finish their food, Regina honestly could not stop grinning at Emma, even as she chided her for apparently telling half the town before her own wife.

“I wanted to do something special,” Emma said in her defense. “And I kind of wanted it to be out in public because I wanted you to see how excited everyone is for us to grow our family.”

Regina glanced at the faces beaming at them from all around the restaurant. Her breath caught and she reached out a hand for Emma’s, not trusting herself to speak for a moment. 

When she could, she whispered out “thank you, my love. That means a lot to me.”

“I know,” said Emma. “I’m glad you liked your surprise.”

Regina squeezed her hand. “I love you so much, Emma.”

“I love you too, Regina.”

 

As they strolled home arm in arm, Regina snuck her hand out to rub over Emma’s belly. 

“When did you find out?” she asked.

“Just a week ago,” Emma answered. “And then I looked at the calendar and decided I wanted to wait to tell you until today.”

“And you’re sure?” Regina couldn’t keep the worry out of her voice. She really did want this so much, and some part of her feared that it would all disappear any moment.

“I’m sure. I even went to the doctor.” Emma slid her arm around Regina’s waist. “I’m healthy, and the baby looks good.”

Regina turned and kissed her cheek. “We’re having a baby,” she said gleefully. “This is the best Mother’s Day gift I ever could have asked for.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note the updated tag from "Mild Smut" to "Smut." That's a little more honest. ;)

It was the kind of phone call you hope you never get, and Regina had to work hard to keep from going into a total panic. David had called to tell her that Emma was at the hospital, and something was wrong. Regina didn’t waste time driving over, she just used her magic, which she generally didn’t do these days. But this was an emergency, and she could care less if it made anyone uncomfortable.

The woman at the nurse’s station saw her coming and directed her to Emma’s room right away. Regina remembered to say thank you at the last minute as she ran down the hallway. Emma was lying on the bed with David sitting next to her. Regina went right up to her and grabbed her outstretched hand.

“Emma,” she breathed. “Are you alright? What happened?”

Emma tried to smile at her, but there was fear in her eyes and her grip on Regina’s hand was much too tight.

“They think it was just false labor, but I was bleeding a little, too, so they wanted to keep me here for a bit.”

Regina held their joined hands to her chest, and stroked Emma’s cheek with the back of her other hand. “Are you in pain?” she asked quietly.

“Not any more,” Emma said. “But it was pretty bad.”

“I found her doubled over in her office,” David said, and the words made Regina’s heart constrict.

“Thank you for taking care of her,” Regina said to him.

David smiled. “Of course. Although I’d prefer it if she didn’t scare us like that again.”

Emma reached out her other hand to her father, who took it and kissed it.

“Thanks Dad,” Emma said, her voice quavering. “Would you give us a minute?”

David nodded and squeezed Regina’s shoulder in reassurance as he left the room, closing the door behind him.

Regina sat down on the bed and gathered Emma up into her arms as best she could, letting her cry like Regina could tell she needed to. 

“Shhhhh,” Regina soothed, “You’re OK. I’m here. You’re going to be alright.”

Emma cried until she was done, and Regina stood up to grab her some tissues from the bedside table. Emma tried to hold onto her when she moved away, so when she had grabbed the tissue box, Regina climbed into the bed next to her, maneuvering her arm around Emma’s shoulders so she could hold her protectively. Emma leaned her head on her wife’s shoulder as she continued to sniffle a little.

“What did the doctor say?” Regina asked when she had calmed down. “And please tell me you called Dr. Prentice and didn’t let Whale anywhere near you.”

Emma managed a watery smile at that and nodded. “I had her talk to the ER nurse,” she said, “And she’s on her way in.”

“Good,” said Regina, feeling calmer now that she was with her wife and talking about details. “Did they give you anything? Or just said to rest?”

“Just some fluids and to rest for right now. They said they’d wait to see if I had any more contractions.”

“And you haven’t?”

“No.” Emma looked up at her, and Regina couldn’t help but feel proud of the adoring look on her face. “You’re about to go into full-on protective wife mode, aren’t you?” Emma asked.

Regina smiled. “Already have, dear.” She kissed Emma’s forehead. “I love you,” she whispered. “And I’ll do anything to keep you and our little one safe.”

Emma put her head back on Regina’s shoulder. “One of the many reasons why I married you,” she said with a sigh.

 

***

After a harrowing day and a half of tests and observation, Dr. Prentice declared her healthy enough to go home, but prescribed bedrest for the final six weeks of Emma’s pregnancy. She could be up for no more than a few hours a day, and was under strict instructions not to exert herself physically at all. Regina took this very seriously and immediately took over all household duties, threatening to restrain Emma with magic if she tried to do too much. And of course Emma did try to do too much. She hated being cooped up inside, but with the winter weather, there really wasn’t another option. After the first week of complaining, though, Regina finally relented and used magic to transport her over to her parents’ for the day. Emma had tried to use magic only once since getting pregnant, with pretty disastrous results. Regina didn’t quite understand why, but they both agreed she should just wait until after the baby was born to try it again. But Regina trusted Snow to keep an eye on her daughter, so she gave in to Emma’s requests to “poof” her over. Regina drew the line at transporting her to Granny’s, though, no matter how many times Emma tried those adorable puppy dog eyes on her. It started to grate on both of them, though, as the weeks wore on.

“These aren’t my rules!” Regina said one day about three weeks in to bed-rest. “They’re for your safety, and the safety of our child.”

“I know that,” Emma snapped, “But I really think you’re taking it too far. It’s my body. I can tell how much I’m doing, and I’m telling you going for a walk around the block is not going to be too much!”

“It’s three weeks, Emma. You can wait for three more weeks. Believe me, when the baby is born you’ll wish you had hours on end to sit around and do nothing.”

“Oh no, you do not get to play the ‘I already know how to raise a baby’ card, Regina.”

Regina, who had been drying the dishes while this fight was brewing, whipped around to glare at her wife. “That is not what I’m doing,” she hissed. “I’m trying to keep you safe.”

“And all you’re doing is making me angry! That can’t be good for the baby, either!” Emma was shouting by this point, and Regina had had enough.

“You know what?” she growled. “Go. Go take a walk. But don’t expect me to come rushing to your side the next time you need something. You want to do it your way? Fine. Do it your way. Let me know how it goes.”

And with that she stormed out of the room, grabbed her coat and headed straight out the door, slamming it behind her. The burst of cold air immediately sobered her, and she took a deep breath, leaning back against the doorframe. She shouldn’t have yelled. But Emma shouldn’t have been arguing with her like that. Regina pushed off the door and started to walk at a brisk pace as the anger and frustration from their fight came bubbling back up.

The movement felt good, and she shook out her hands and arms while she walked, trying to move the bad feelings out. And then she stopped in the middle of the sidewalk as she realized that this was exactly the kind of stress-relief Emma had wanted and Regina had denied it to her. Emma was feeling stuck, and all she wanted was a reminder that she wasn’t. Regina could walk with her, make sure they went slow, and just bring them back home if Emma got tired. Regina felt remorse rise up, and she turned and walked quickly home.

 

“Emma?” she called as she took off her coat and kicked off her now-wet shoes. 

“I’m in here,” came the morose response. Regina sighed. Of course Emma was still mad at her. She needed to apologize. And if there was one thing she still wasn’t very good at, it was apologizing when she was wrong. But she needed to do this. So she took a deep breath and walked into the living room.

“Hey,” she said quietly.

“Hey,” Emma responded, not looking up from the book she was reading. Or at least, the book she had open on her lap. Regina walked over and sat next to where Emma was stretched out on the couch. She picked up Emma’s feet and moved over so she could put them back down on her lap.

“I’m sorry,” Regina said, starting to rub one of Emma’s feet. “I think I may have gotten a little too over-protective.”

“I’ll say,” Emma grumbled. 

Regina bit her lip and looked down. 

Emma sighed. “Thank you for apologizing,” she said, catching Regina’s eye. “And I’m sorry, too. I’m just … restless. But I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”

Regina nodded. “Come on,” she said, “let’s go out for a walk.”

Emma’s eyes brightened. Regina was much better with actions than words when it came to apologies, and she could see this was absolutely the right move.

“Just a short one, I promise,” Emma said hurriedly, and Regina smiled. “I just need to get outside.”

“I know, darling,” Regina replied. “I’m sorry.”

Emma reached out and squeezed her hand. “It’s OK,” she said. “We’re almost there.”

Regina helped her up and they both bundled up against the cold wind, feeling much more like themselves than either of them had in a while.

***

That night Emma lay in bed while Regina moved around the bedroom, getting her outfit ready for the next day and putting stray items away in the closet. The walk had been a really good idea. Emma dutifully took it slow, and they were only out for about 20 minutes. But it had done wonders for her wife’s mood. Emma was now contentedly curled on one side, one arm around her belly, watching Regina with a faint smile on her face. When Regina got in bed next to her, Emma immediately pulled her close and sought out her lips. 

Regina hummed into the kiss, delighting in the closeness and the feel of her wife’s skin as she caressed her bare shoulders. After a few minutes, Regina pulled away, kissing Emma’s cheek and then behind her ear, and nuzzling into her neck as she lay down on the pillow facing her. Emma sighed, and pulled Regina’s leg up to drape over her thighs. Regina pushed her hips closer, loving the feeling of holding Emma so close. As she did, though, Emma hummed and looked up at her in surprise. 

“You’re wet,” Emma said.

Regina felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment, and she looked away. She had pretty much gotten used to going to sleep wanting and taking care of herself in the shower the next morning. Emma hadn’t had much interest in sex for the past few months, but after being put on bed-rest, Regina knew that wasn’t going to happen for quite some time. She missed it, of course, but didn’t see any reason to bring it up. Emma was affectionate with her in other ways, and Regina knew the sex would come back when it was the right time. But now that Emma had noticed, she didn’t know what to do.

“Regina,” Emma said, coaxing her to look up. “Don’t be embarrassed. I’m glad I still turn you on. It is because of me, right?” she added with a wry smile.

Regina rolled her eyes but smiled up at her. “Of course it’s you,” she grumbled. “Kissing you has always had that effect on me.”

Emma’s face softened as she seemed to realize what Regina meant. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” she said.

Regina reached up and cupped Emma’s face in reassurance. “It’s OK,” she whispered. “Don’t worry about it.”

Emma looked worried, though, and Regina hated that. This is why she hadn’t said anything - she knew Emma would feel bad about it, and that was the last thing she wanted.

“Really,” Regina insisted. “It’s fine. I know you’re just not interested in sex right now, and that’s OK. I can’t help it if I’m still attracted to you, though,” she said with a smile.

Emma turned and kissed Regina’s palm, which was still resting on her cheek. “You’re right, I have basically no sex drive right now, but I do miss the intimacy of sex.” She ran her hand down Regina’s back and slipped it underneath her nightshirt. Regina’s breath caught as Emma traced slow circles on her skin, and then bent her head to pepper light kisses on Regina’s neck and collarbone. “And besides,” she whispered between kisses, “I can still touch you.”

Regina shook her head and started to push Emma away from her. “I’m not asking you to do that, Emma.”

“I know you’re not,” Emma replied. “But I want to. I miss touching you, Regina,” she added, bending back down to run her lips over Regina’s neck. “I love watching you react. And I love how good it feels to have my fingers inside you.”

Regina moaned. There was no going back now - hearing those words and feeling the way Emma’s caresses were becoming more deliberate was heightening her arousal to a point where she had no choice but to give in to the feelings. 

“Emma,” she whispered. “Are you sure?”

“So sure, babe,” Emma whispered back as she tugged at Regina’s shirt to get it off. Regina happily obliged, shedding her shorts as well. If they were doing this, she wasn’t going to waste any time. Emma grinned up at her. “Come here,” she said, rolling onto her back and pulling Regina up towards her. “Lean over so I can suck on those gorgeous breasts of yours.”

Regina groaned. She did so love it when Emma took charge like this, commanding her attention and her arousal with just her voice. 

Regina maneuvered up so she could brace herself with her arms and leaned in, moaning unabashedly the second that Emma wrapped her lips around her nipple. God, she’d missed this. Sure, getting herself off in the shower had worked to keep her sane, but nothing compared with the feel of her wife’s soft, insistent mouth on her skin. Emma took her time sucking on one nipple and then the other, nipping at the sensitive skin between her breasts occasionally as well. Regina let herself get lost in the sensation, gripping Emma’s hair encouragingly and shivering as Emma scratched her short nails down Regina’s back. Emma lay her head back down and started to pull Regina’s thighs towards her.

“Come up here,” Emma whispered, “let me touch you.”

Regina pushed herself up to where Emma’s hands were waiting for her, kneeling with her legs apart to give Emma plenty of room to trace her fingers up her thighs and into the wet folds between them. Regina was so incredibly aroused by this point, the barest touch made her whole body twitch, and she flopped her chest down onto Emma’s so she wouldn’t have to hold herself up. 

“God, Emma,” Regina moaned, and smiled when Emma chuckled. OK, yes, this was a good idea. Beyond the physical release that her body was cravely so intensely, after this afternoon’s fight it felt really good to be sharing this intimacy. Pretty soon she was panting and writhing on Emma’s fingers. And when Emma slipped two inside of her, Regina gasped and sat up again, pushing her hips down to get more. She put a hand on Emma’s chest, needing to stay connected to her even if she couldn’t be sitting across her lap like she usually liked to be. It didn’t take long before she could feel her orgasm starting to build. 

“Yes, babe,” Emma encouraged softly. “That’s it. Come for me.”

Regina looked down into her wife’s eyes, her heart glowing with the love she saw reflected back at her. She thrust her hips down a few more times, and then she was coming, shaking and shivering and dropping her torso back down to lie on Emma’s sternum while she tried to catch her breath.

When she lifted her head, Emma was looking at her with knowing smile on her face.

“Come on,” she said, patting Regina’s hip, “come sit on my face.”

Regina’s breath hitched. It had felt crass at first, having Emma describe what she wanted to do in bed, but now it was the fastest way to Regina’s libido. But right now she felt selfish taking another orgasm when she knew Emma wouldn’t want her to return the favor. So she shook her head, muttering something about it being fine.

“Stop it, Regina,” Emma said firmly. “I can tell you’re not done. Let me take care of you. You’ve been taking care of me for weeks. This is the least I can do.”

Regina hesitated. She desperately wanted to, but it was so hard not to give in to the voice telling her that this time wasn’t about her, and she should be focusing on Emma instead of the other way around.

Emma put a finger under her chin and placed a sweet kiss on Regina’s lips.

“I can see you thinking about this too hard,” she said. “Stop thinking and just let me fuck you.”

Regina bit back a giggle at Emma’s words, then gave her a quick kiss before clambering up to straddle her wife’s head.

Emma nuzzled into her thighs a few times before wrapping her arms around her to coax Regina down onto her tongue. Regina held onto the headboard as Emma began to lick and suck and gently bite her exactly how she needed. She finally felt her brain turn off as she closed her eyes and gave herself over to the incredible sensations, not even noticing how wildly she was bucking her hips. Emma held onto her, pushing her higher and higher before finally tipping her over the edge. Regina practically screamed out her release, with an unintelligible string of “yesses” and “Emmas” and “fucks.” She stayed where she was until she felt Emma tap her thigh, and then she rolled off onto her back, spent and utterly satisfied. Not that she had enjoyed the past couple months without sex, but there was something particularly intense about coming like that after a long break.

Emma rolled onto her side, which Regina knew was much more comfortable for her, and traced a finger along Regina’s sweaty skin. Regina hummed and moved over so she could tuck her arm under Emma’s head.

“Thank you,” she breathed. “I guess I really needed that.”

“Me too,” Emma replied. And when Regina looked at her, she explained, “I was starting to feel a little distant. That’s part of why I got so upset this afternoon. This helped.”

“I’m so sorry about that, my darling,” Regina said. “Thank you for forgiving me.”

“Don’t be silly. I was being childish, too. I think we just needed to get it out.”

“Maybe so.”

Regina ran her hand along Emma’s belly, which was pressed into her side. “How’s our little one doing?” she asked.

“Mostly quiet,” Emma said, her hand joining Regina’s. “We’ll see if she lets me sleep tonight.”

Regina kissed Emma’s head. “Is there anything you … want?” she asked tentatively. She still couldn’t quite get herself to talk about sex as openly as Emma, even though she knew Emma would love it. So far it had been enough that Emma knew she was trying.

“Back massage?” Emma asked hopefully, and Regina grinned.

“Coming right up.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently I really like the formula of relationship+plot + smut for this fic...

Regina walked in the door of their house and listened intently for a moment before kicking off her shoes and padding quietly up the stairs. No noise probably meant the rest of her little family was napping, and she definitely did not want to wake them up. Sure enough, she walked into the bedroom to find Emma fast asleep on the bed, curled protectively around baby Eleanor, who was tightly swaddled and snoozing just like her mother. Regina leaned against the doorway and gazed at them, a smile playing on her lips. They were so beautiful, and she was incredibly grateful to be here with them.

As if sensing her presence, first Ellie, then Emma started to stir. Regina climbed onto the bed on the other side of the baby and put her hand on her tiny chest, rubbing soothing circles as she woke up and started to fuss. Emma blinked a couple of times and then smiled sleepily at her.

“Hey babe,” Emma said, her voice husky with sleep.

“How are you feeling?” Regina asked.

“Better for having got some sleep,” Emma answered, stretching her arms and yawning.

“Why don’t you sleep some more,” Regina suggested as she saw how tired Emma looked. “I’ll take Ellie and we’ll make dinner. I’ll wake you up when it’s ready.”

Emma sighed and nodded, her eyes already drooping. Regina leaned over to kiss her cheek, and then retrieved their daughter from the bed, unwrapping her from her swaddle.

‘Our daughter,’ she thought, and felt a warm glow as she cradled the little girl in her arms. What a precious gift she was. After the scare during the last trimester, the frighteningly long and painful labor Emma had to endure, and the three days in the hospital to recover from such a difficult birth, Regina made sure to count her blessings every day that her wife and daughter continued to improve in health and wellbeing. Ellie had had some trouble latching on for breastfeeding, but they’d had better success lately, and she seemed to take to the bottle alright from the beginning. Emma wanted desperately to breastfeed her, and Regina could understand that. But privately she was just grateful it wasn’t the other way around, since either of them could bottle feed, and she loved that feeling of holding their little one while she ate.

Ellie was definitely awake now, and was starting to grab at Regina’s hair. Regina laughed as she tried to sweep it away from the tiny grasping fingers. She really needed to remember to pull her hair back before picking the baby up. She looked around for a hair tie, and then sighed and just waved it up with magic. No point in making things harder on herself. After things had settled down in Storybrooke, she took Emma’s point that they didn’t need to rely on magic for daily life. But still, it was terribly convenient sometimes.

Regina glanced at the time as she came down the stairs, a giddy feeling starting to build up in her stomach. Henry was going to show up this evening to surprise Emma. He’d called on Tuesday to ask about coming home for the weekend from college, and the two of them had decided that it would be fun to keep it a surprise. Regina herself hated surprises, but the look on Emma’s face when she realized her family had planned something good for her behind her back was worth all the sneaking around and little lies to keep her in the dark. And it was fun to plan something with her son. Regina had worried that he would be upset over them having another baby, but he was all for it, and had been hounding her for weeks about when he was going to be allowed to babysit.

Regina set Ellie up in her carrier on the counter and started to bustle around the kitchen preparing dinner. She talked at the baby the whole time, narrating what she was doing, telling her how smart and wonderful she was, and generally distracting herself from cooking. By the time she had put the chicken and vegetables in the oven, though, Ellie was getting restless, and Regina could tell she was about to start crying. She looked back at the clock.

“Are you hungry, little one? Is that it?” she cooed, picking the baby up and cradling her in one arm. She quieted a little, but was still shifting around restlessly, so Regina expertly went about preparing a bottle with one hand, holding the little girl in the other the whole time. Once it was ready, she double checked that the oven timer was on and went to sit at the dining room table to give Ellie her bottle. She took it right away, and Regina kissed her head as she drank.

“There you go, little one,” she said softly. “My beautiful, darling little princess. Both of your mothers love you so much, my sweet girl.”

“You’re so good with her,” Emma said from behind her.

Regina smiled as she looked around to see her wife leaning on the doorframe, clearly having watched for a while before making her presence known. Emma came up behind her chair and leaned down to hug Regina from behind, leaning her chin on her shoulder. They both turned to watch their daughter finish eating. 

“Seriously, Regina,” Emma said in her ear. “I couldn’t imagine doing this without you.”

“And you’ll never have to,” Regina replied at once, turning to kiss her cheek. Emma saw it coming, though, and turned her head so Regina got her lips instead. They both chuckled and shared a few more soft kisses before Emma stood up.

“Mmmmm, dinner smells good,” she said, drifting towards the kitchen. 

“Would you take the baby?” Regina asked. “I want to put a glaze on the chicken.” This was true, but really she wanted to keep Emma occupied for a few minutes. She’d heard her phone buzz from the counter and guessed that it was Henry telling her his ETA. Emma happily scooped Ellie up from Regina, patting her back and bouncing a little.

Regina looked at her phone. It was indeed Henry, and he had just crossed the town line. She grinned at the follow-up message: <Don’t worry mom, I pulled over to send this text. See you in a few.> She quickly poured the glaze over the chicken, pulled out the vegetables, and got everything into serving dishes and onto the table. Emma was distracted with the baby, so Regina quietly set out three place settings, trying not to let her excitement show. 

But Emma noticed that she was grinning from ear to ear and said so.

“What’s with you tonight? Not that I mind seeing you so happy,” she added, “But you’re grinning like a maniac.”

“Nothing,” said Regina, and she knew even without Emma’s superpower she’d be able to tell she was lying. But it didn’t matter, because at that moment there was a knock on the door.

“Are you expecting someone?” Emma asked. 

Regina didn’t answer, just gestured for her to follow and made her way down the stairs to the entranceway. She opened the door to find their son wearing a matching grin to her own, and she laughed out loud at Emma’s gasp.

“Henry!” she practically squealed. “Kid, what are you doing here?!” He rushed in to hug her from the side that wasn’t holding the baby, and then let himself get wrapped up by Regina in turn.

“Hey Moms! I missed you guys,” he said as they pulled him inside. “And Mom said Ellie could hold her head up by herself now and I had to see it for myself.”

Emma pulled him in for another hug, and Regina could see that she was crying and laughing at the same time. Good, she thought, Emma needed this.

Emma wiped her eyes and shook her head. “Sorry, kid. Damn hormones. I cry at everything these days.”

“Don’t worry about it, Ma,” he said, nudging her shoulder.

“You hungry? Regina just made dinner.” Emma walked him into the dining room, saw the three place settings and then stopped, turning to look directly at her wife.

“You knew!” she exclaimed, and Regina couldn’t help but grin as she nodded. “And you actually kept it from me? I must be really tired. I usually know when you’re hiding something.”

“You just had a baby, Ma,” Henry said, “Cut yourself some slack.”

They both laughed at that, and when Henry joined in, Regina saw Ellie’s eyes seek him out, curious about this new person in her world. He waved at her, and Regina thought her heart might burst with love and pride over her family.

 

***

After the excitement of having Henry show up, everyone was tired out and ready for bed fairly early. Henry, of course, had studying to do, so he set up in his old room, letting each of his mothers hug and kiss him goodnight before closing the door and heading down the hall to their room. Regina and Emma put Ellie down in the nursery they’d made from the walk-in closet in their bedroom, and she went to sleep pretty quickly. Regina took Emma’s hand as they pulled the heavy curtain across the doorway. 

“Did you like your surprise?” she asked quietly, although she already knew the answer.

Emma turned and wrapped her arms around Regina, murmuring “yes,” then pulled back to grin at her. “Although I’m still amazed I had no idea,” she said with a laugh. “You’re usually so bad at keeping secrets from me.”

“What are you talking about? Henry and I have surprised you a number of times.”

“Right, yeah,” Emma said, and Regina gasped in mock horror (but real surprise. She really thought they’d fooled her).

“Are you telling me you knew about all of them?”

Emma just nodded. 

“And here I was thinking you loved surprises. You were just one step ahead of us the whole time!” Regina shook her head and clasped her arms around her wife’s waist.

“I do love surprises,” Emma replied. “Even when I see them coming.” She put her head on Regina’s shoulder and kissed her neck softly. “I love knowing that you care enough to plan something like that.”

Regina threaded her fingers through her hair and hummed. “Well good,” she said, “Because I do.” They stayed like that for a delightful few minutes, swaying gently together and just enjoying the closeness and quiet of the night. It was Emma who first started to move her hands, caressing up and down Regina’s back in ways that made Regina’s skin tingle and her breath start to speed up. She responded in kind, loving the way Emma pressed into her as her fingers danced underneath her shirt and up her bare back. They hadn’t really touched each other like this since the baby was born. Ellie wasn’t a great sleeper at first, and with Emma needing so much recovery time from the difficult birth, they were both so distracted and tired that their affection was pretty limited. Not that Regina didn’t feel the connection between them, which was stronger than ever. It just wasn’t something they were expressing physically a lot lately.

But Emma was finally feeling better, and Ellie had been letting them sleep more, and suddenly Regina wanted nothing more than to touch and caress and kiss and love every inch of her wife’s body. She was still going to let Emma lead, but she intended to make it very clear what she wanted.

“Emma,” she whispered as she held her tight and began to pepper soft kisses along her jawline. “My sweet, darling, wonderful Emma. I love the feel of you in my arms like this.”

Emma moaned softly and pulled Regina impossibly closer. “I love you, Regina,” she whispered back. She hesitated, and then added, “Will you touch me? I don’t know if I want to have sex yet, but I want to feel your hands on me.”

The words were music to Regina’s ears, and she groaned out “yes” before sliding her hands under Emma’s shirt and lifting it up over her head. She carefully traced the curves and contours of her shoulders, chest, belly and hips, wanting to touch every single part of her. Emma sighed, resting her hands on Regina’s shoulders and just letting herself be caressed. Regina reached around her to unclasp her bra, pulling it off slowly and running her fingers gently along the lines it had left on Emma’s skin. 

“Come on,” Regina whispered, and led her wife over to their bed. She helped Emma arrange herself comfortably on the pillows and then knelt to one side to pull off her pants, taking her panties with them. This wasn’t about teasing or working her up - this was about loving her body and making her feel good.

“You too, babe.” Emma pulled at the hem of Regina’s shirt, and Regina took the hint, getting up and pulling her clothes off without fanfare. When they were both finally naked, Regina crawled onto the bed, kneeling between Emma’s legs so she could reach every part of her. She leaned in and kissed her tenderly, smiling at the vibrating hum that passed between them as her breasts brushed against Emma’s chest. Emma reached up to cup her cheeks and pull her in closer, deepening the kiss and making Regina’s pulse speed up again. Before she got too carried away, Regina broke away from the kiss and started to gently caress Emma’s neck, down to her shoulders, and collarbones, running her fingers over her skin and bending to kiss a particularly sensitive spot every now and then. Emma sighed contentedly and her arms dropped down to the bed, apparently happy to let Regina take it from here.

Regina continued down Emma’s ribs and belly, leaving her breasts alone for now, and then she traced down one leg and up the other. She glanced up to see that Emma had her eyes closed and had a rapturous expression on her face that made Regina want to laugh in delight. But instead she just kept going until her fingers were reacquainted with her wife’s body. She moved back up Emma’s torso, this time skimming lightly over her full breasts. Emma hissed a little, and Regina immediately stopped.

“I’m sorry sweetheart. Are your nipples sore?” she asked.

Emma nodded without opening her eyes. Regina placed a careful kiss on her sternum.

“Don’t move,” she said, and crawled off the bed to find the special cream she’d bought for nursing mothers. Emma opened her eyes and watched her go, but stayed where she was. She smiled when she saw what Regina had stood up to get.

“Close your eyes again,” Regina whispered as she settled back between Emma’s legs. She squeezed some of the cream onto her fingers and swirled it around to warm it up. She collected it on her thumbs and then brought one to each of Emma’s chapped nipples, rubbing across them as gently as she could. 

Emma sighed and smiled. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Regina rubbed in the last of the cream, set the tube on the bedside table, and returned to her ministrations. This time as she ran her fingers along Emma’s ribs, she bent and kissed her there, too. Just little pecks at first, but as she heard Emma’s sighs get breathier, she turned them into open-mouthed kisses that soon turned to just running her tongue along the curves of Emma’s belly, and over her hips bones, down to her inner thighs, which by this point where spread wide for her. Regina savored the feel of her tongue on Emma’s skin, and let her fingers start to massage those strong legs. When Emma whimpered softly above her, she looked up, but her wife’s eyes were still closed, and her face and her breath told Regina that she was very much enjoying this. 

When Regina looked back down, her eyes were drawn between Emma’s thighs, and she could see that her wife was starting to get wet. Regina bit her lip and took a breath. Now that she’d noticed, she could smell that delicious scent of Emma’s arousal so close, and she longed to taste her. She must have stopped to look for a little too long, because Emma noticed and touched her head to get her attention. 

Regina looked up at her. “May I?” she asked. “I’ll be gentle.”

Emma hesitated for half a second, but then nodded and watched as Regina kissed her thighs a couple more times before scooting up closer. Regina brought her hands up and carefully spread her open so she could have full access to Emma’s glistening folds. When her tongue finally made contact, she couldn’t help the breathy moan that escaped at tasting her wife again after so many months. Emma sucked in a breath above her, and then let it out with a faint sigh. That was all the encouragement Regina needed. She began to slowly, lovingly tongue her wife, licking in wide circles, carefully avoiding her clit for now. She didn’t want to work her up too quickly. Emma started to moan softly above her, and Regina smiled to herself. She kept her pace slow and steady, gradually including Emma’s more sensitive spots in her circles.

Emma continued to make soft little noises of contentment, and Regina took that as invitation to stay right where she was. After many blissful minutes, Emma threaded her hand through Regina’s hair and tugged a little to get her to look up.

“Babe,” she whispered. “Uhhhh, that feels so good, but I don’t think I’m going to come tonight.”

Regina leaned her head on Emma’s thigh and gazed up at her lovingly.

“That’s alright, darling. That was never the point. I just want you to feel good.”

“I do,” Emma sighed. “I haven’t been this relaxed in months.”

Regina hummed. “Good.” She rubbed her cheek on Emma’s skin. She knew what Emma meant - finally getting to be intimate and connected like this had her feeling calmer than she had in a while, and she really didn’t want to stop. So, reminding herself that Emma constantly encouraged her to ask for what she wanted, she took a deep breath and did just that.

“Can I keep going?” she asked shyly. “I’m really enjoying this.”

Emma bit her lip and brushed Regina’s hair out of her face. She nodded, and when Regina immediately brought her mouth back to where it was, Emma dropped her head back on the pillow, keeping her fingers in Regina’s hair. Regina closed her eyes and sank into the sensations surrounding her. When Emma eventually pulled on her hair to bring her back up her body, Regina felt just as satisfied as Emma looked.

“Oh babe, that was incredible,” Emma whispered as she curled herself around Regina, tangling their limbs comfortably. “You know me so well.”

Regina hummed. “That I do, my darling. It wasn’t too much?”

“Not at all. It was perfect. I feel like … well, like I can feel my body again.” She sighed. “Thank you.”

Regina pulled her closer. “You’re welcome. I love you, Emma, so much.”

“Love you too,” Emma muttered, and Regina watched as she fell asleep just like that. 

Regina lay there slowly stroking her wife’s hair, listening for the soft sounds of their baby sleeping, and picturing their son just drifting off to sleep in his room down the hall, and for this precious moment she was perfectly content.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprisingly, there's no smut in this chapter. But don't worry, I'll more than make up for it in the next one.

It was Emma’s first day back at work, and Regina’s first day back in the office (she’d been working from home while Emma was on maternity leave), and by 10:30am Regina was starting to feel like this had been a huge mistake. They should have gone back one at a time to soften the blow. Instead, she’d gone from all day every day with her wife and daughter to budgets and meetings and phone calls, all the while worrying herself sick about how Emma was doing and whether David was following her carefully laid out schedule for Ellie’s feeding and naps. Regina sighed. She knew they’d be fine, but she could just feel the tension starting to settle into her neck, and she longed for the warmth and safety of their home.

She picked up her phone and put it down again about four times before giving in and sending off a quick text to her wife, just to see how she was doing. But when Emma texted back right away with <could be better>, Regina wasted no time in calling her.

“Hey babe,” Emma answered, sounding exhausted.

“Sweetheart,” Regina breathed. “What’s going on?”

“Hold on,” Emma said, and Regina heard muffled movement and then a click that was probably Emma closing her office door.

“I can’t do this,” Emma said when she returned, and Regina could hear that she was on the verge of tears. “Everybody expects me to be my old self, and I’m just not there yet. I miss you and I miss Ellie and I just want to go home.”

“Oh, Emma,” Regina said gently. She knew exactly how Emma felt. “You know, you can go home if you need to.”

Emma hiccupped on the other side of the phone, clearly having started crying. Regina’s heart constricted and she briefly considered just magicking herself over there. But they’d agreed that it was important for them to get back to their professional boundaries again. They’d made some clear rules when they got together, since technically Regina was Emma’s boss, and that meant no personal calls or visits except on lunch breaks, and in case of emergency, of course. And right now, her wife’s emotional state felt like an emergency to Regina. But she tried to keep herself calm and be the support that Emma needed her to be.

“No,” Emma said finally, taking a deep breath after blowing her nose. “No, I need to stick it out. We knew this would be hard, I just didn’t realize how hard.”

“Are you sure sweetheart? Maybe you could leave early today.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Emma replied, sounding calmer by the minute. “I’m supposed to meet with the Fisheries Advisory Board this afternoon to plan permit day, though, and you know that won’t be a short meeting.”

Regina managed to keep her thoughts about that particular shit show of a committee to herself, although Emma apparently read her silence loud and clear.

“Yes, I know,” Emma said, “They’re a pain in the ass and I definitely would not have chosen to do this my first day back. But permit day is next Wednesday, and we need to make a better plan than last year.”

“I didn’t say a word,” Regina replied.

Emma laughed, and Regina smiled at the sound. “You didn’t have to, babe.” She paused. “Do you have time for lunch?” she asked shyly.

“For you? Always,” Regina said right away, glancing at her calendar. She’d have to move a meeting, but right now she would move heaven and earth if her wife asked her to.

“Can you come here?” Emma asked. “I know we try not to have personal time in the office, but people keep calling for me since they know I’m back, and I don’t want to come back to 10 voicemails.”

“Of course, darling,” Regina said gently. “I love you,” she added.

Emma sighed. “I love you, too, Regina. I’ll … I’ll see you at noon?”

Regina bit her lip, hearing that Emma didn’t want to get off the phone. She didn’t either, but she made herself say goodbye and hang up, holding the phone close for a moment as she got her emotions under control.

This was ridiculous. Regina knew going back to work would be hard on both of them, but suddenly she wondered why in the world they’d chosen to make it even harder by jumping back in as if everything had reset to before the baby. It hadn’t. Their lives were different, and hell, she was the Mayor. She could decide exactly how work got done in this town, and if anyone had a problem with it, well, they just wouldn’t. She called her assistant to help rearrange her calendar, packed up a few files that needed to go to the Sheriff station anyway, and headed out the door towards David and Snow’s house.

 

***

It took Regina twice as long to get lunch for herself and Emma at Granny’s because everybody kept fawning over the baby. And if she was honest, she enjoyed having people greet them with warm smiles, so she let it happen. She’d decided that there was no reason Emma couldn’t keep Ellie with her at work, and Regina would take her when Emma needed to go to that inane Fisheries meeting this afternoon. This was a much better idea - they could just swap off having the baby with them at work for a while until it felt easier to leave her with her grandfather. That would help, she was sure of it.

When Regina finally made it to the Sheriff station, she was surprised to see something of a crowd gathered there. Emma was sitting on the edge of the desk with her back to the door, deep in conversation with one of her deputies, who was reading off his notepad and glancing towards Granny and two disgruntled looking teenagers, who were flanked by their parents. Regina recognized the parents as the owners of the pizza shop down the street from her house. She stayed in the background, letting Emma finish up explaining where the kids needed to be for the community service they were going to do to make up for spray-painting rude things on the side of Granny’s diner.

Granny turned to leave first, and saw Regina standing there.

“Madame Mayor,” Granny said in greeting. She and Regina were cordial, but definitely not friendly. Regina didn’t mind, though. They didn’t have to like each other, they just had to be respectful of one another, which they were. But when Granny saw Ellie waving her little hands from the stroller, her entire face melted and she drifted closer to wave back at the little girl.

“Well hello there,” she cooed, “aren’t you a precious little bundle of joy?”

Regina heard Emma gasp, and in an instant she was at her side, scooping Ellie out of the stroller with barely a glance at anyone else. She kissed her tiny cheek, and Regina could see that Emma’s entire body seemed to relax as soon as she felt the little girl’s weight in her arms. Emma smiled gratefully at Regina and leaned into her side. Regina put her arm protectively around Emma’s waist, and her own body settled as she was finally back with the people who mattered most to her.

Emma happily took the compliments and congratulations from the gathered group, taking Ellie’s arm and making her wave at everyone, to a chorus of “awwws.” 

Granny looked at Regina, a rare kindness in her eyes. “She looks like Henry was he was this age,” she said.

Regina breath caught and she immediately stiffened. Emma looked at her sharply, having noticed her reaction. Regina tightened her grip on Emma’s waist and tried to calm down. What was that about? Granny was right - Ellie and Henry both had Emma’s cheekbones and their mouths creased around the edges in the same way. She hadn’t seen it before, but why should that make her stomach drop in fear like that? She managed a smile at Granny, and was grateful when Emma shooed everyone away so she and Regina could have lunch. 

Emma let her deputy know that she was available before she closed the door of her office, where both of them sighed in relief. Emma shifted Ellie onto one hip so she could reach out to Regina, pulling her close and kissing her softly. Regina breathed in the smell of Emma, which at some point had become the smell of home. Ellie giggled and grabbed at her, making both of her mothers laugh in delight. Emma blew a raspberry on her cheek, and the little girl laughed again.

“Hello my sweet little Ellie,” Emma said in a sing-song voice. “I’m so happy your Mama decided to bring you to lunch. I missed you all morning.”

“I was actually thinking you could keep her with you here,” Regina said as she pulled the two office chairs close to Emma’s desk and started to pull out their lunches. “You can drop her with me before you go to the meeting this afternoon.”

“Really?” Emma bit her lip and looked at her so hopefully Regina nearly laughed for how much she looked like Henry when he really wanted something.

“I am the Mayor of this town,” Regina said importantly, “And I hereby decree that the Sheriff is allowed to keep her daughter with her at work. Also the Mayor, for that matter.”

“Thank you,” Emma breathed, and pulled Regina in for another hug. “Thank you,” she said again. “God, I missed you so much this morning.”

Regina ran her fingers through Emma’s hair, scratching lightly at the base of her skull. “I missed you, too, my love. Isn’t that just ridiculous? It’s only been four hours.”

Emma kissed her cheek and hummed. “Not ridiculous. I’m the one that cried on the phone to you earlier.”

Ellie grabbed a piece of Emma’s hair and held on tight, making Emma wince when she turned her head and the hair stayed where it was. Regina chuckled but went to her rescue, prying the locks out of the baby’s hands. 

“This is why I started wearing my hair short when I adopted Henry” Regina said, and then stopped. That icy feeling in the pit of her stomach was back, and she still didn’t know why. Emma, again, noticed the shift her demeanor.

“Regina, what’s going on? You did that earlier when Granny said that Ellie looks like Henry,” Emma asked.

“I don’t know,” Regina said honestly. “I ….” she shook her head. “I’m probably just tired.”

Emma eyed her. “No, something’s bothering you. But we can talk about it when you’re ready.” She leaned over to kiss Regina’s cheek, and Regina brought a hand up to caress her wife’s face. This was one of the many reasons she’d fallen in love with Emma. Back when they’d first started dating, she’d gotten spooked about how quickly their relationship was progressing, and she just kind of clammed up, not sure what to say to Emma. Emma was patient, but didn’t let her just pull away. She insisted that Regina talk to her, and waited as long as she needed until she was ready. Emma still did that, and Regina felt so lucky every time it happened. Nobody had ever been that patient with her before.

Emma sat down and shifted Ellie onto her lap, where she immediately began to grasp at her breasts. Emma smiled. “OK, little one. Lunch time for you first, and then lunch time for Mom.” 

Regina gave her some space to pull back her shirt and bra and get Ellie settled on her breast. Emma looked up at Regina and cocked her head. “Come here,” she said. 

Regina pulled her chair closer so she could could wrap her arms around her wife, resting her chin on her shoulder and gazing down at the beautiful baby staring up at them while she suckled. They had started to do this whenever they could - be in physical contact while one of them was feeding the baby. Moments like this made Regina feel intimately connected to her family in ways she could never have imagined years ago. 

In the middle of this domestic bliss, there was a knock on the door. 

“Sheriff?” Emma’s deputy called. Regina could not for the life of her remember his name. The kid was barely out of high school and had started during Emma’s maternity leave.

“Yeah, Jonathan, come in,” Emma called. Jonathan, that was it. 

He walked in the door and then visibly started at the scene in front of him. Regina suppressed a smirk but did at least untangle herself from Emma, although by the way he kept very careful eye contact with his boss, she figured he was more concerned with Emma’s naked breast than Regina’s affection.

“Mr. Monroe called for you. He’s trying to sign up for the volunteer fire department again, and I told him he had to talk to you first.”

“Good call. No way is that man getting anywhere near a fire hose again anytime soon. I’ll call him in a few. Everything else OK?”

“Yes ma’am,” the deputy said, and Regina had to bite her cheek to keep from laughing at his formality. 

“Sheriff will do,” Emma said evenly, although Regina could see her eyes lighting up with amusement. “Close the door when you leave but don’t hesitate to knock if you need anything.”

He practically ran back out the door, tripping over a chair in his haste to obey. Emma rolled her eyes and smiled.

“Remind me to buy my dad something really nice for his birthday for dealing with this kid all on his own for four months.”

 

***

That night, Regina couldn’t sleep. Emma had her hand resting on Regina’s chest, which usually soothed her enough to get to sleep, but she couldn’t stop thinking about the events of the day. She toyed idly with Emma’s wedding ring while she tried to puzzle out what was bothering her so much. Keeping Ellie with them at work had been a really good idea. Emma was in much better spirits when she dropped her off with Regina, and even though it had been distracting to have her there, it was the good kind of distraction, and Regina had loved starting every meeting with 10 minutes of talking about the baby. Things were so good in her life. What was making her freeze up in fear every now and then?

Ellie’s cries broke into her spiraling thoughts, and she automatically shifted to get out of bed to get her. Emma groaned and rolled onto her back. Regina bent over to kiss her cheek.

“Go back to sleep, my love, I’ll get her,” she whispered as Ellie started to really wail.

“No, it’s my turn,” Emma mumbled with her eyes still closed.

“It’s OK, I was awake anyway. Go back to sleep.”

Emma opened her eyes at that. “You sure?” she asked.

Regina nodded and got up, wrapping a robe around her.

“Love you,” Emma sighed as she curled onto her side again.

“I love you too,” Regina whispered, and walked quietly over to the crib.

She picked up Ellie and her favorite blanket and brought her downstairs to the kitchen to prepare a bottle. Ellie quieted down while she was eating, but kept fussing and eventually started crying again. Regina checked her diaper, which was dry, tried burping her, which helped for about five minutes before she started crying again, and finally settled her on her shoulder while she walked around and sang little nonsense songs to her. It seemed her daughter was as restless as she was. And yet with the little girl holding onto her pajama top, Regina felt calmer than she had all day. Sure, she’d hate it in the morning when she was tired all day, but right now her heart was full to bursting with love for this little creature who so clearly recognized her as her mother and sought comfort from her.

Regina flashed to a long-forgotten memory of her first weeks with Henry, when neither of them felt like she was his mother. She had no idea how to soothe him, and had been reduced to tears so many times before she finally figured out what made him calm down. She’d done her research on child-rearing, of course, but nothing could prepare you for the reality, and with nobody around to help or support her, she’d floundered during those early days. And maybe it was because she’d done it before, but everything with Ellie felt easier. Even the hard nights like this one.

And just like that, she understood what was going on. She had been so defensive with Emma when they’d first met because deep down Regina felt like a failure as a mother. Now she and her son had a wonderful relationship, but there were so many things she’d have done differently with him if she’d just … been a different person. And now she was a different person, and she had an opportunity to do things better with her daughter. Regina gasped out loud as the thought entered her head: ‘do I love Ellie more than Henry?’ It was chilling, and disorienting, and was definitely part of what was making her feel panicked earlier in the day.

She looked down at the little girl in her arms, who was still crying pitifully, and made an effort to push aside her swirling thoughts. Her daughter needed her, and she knew for a fact that children pick up on the emotional state of their parents. Besides, looking at Ellie all she could feel was a fierce glowing love and protectiveness. So Regina settled in for the long haul. She found the baby sling she’d gotten for exactly this purpose, strapped her in, and started to pace. She hummed and sang and rubbed soothing circles on the girl’s back until finally, finally she began to settle down. Ellie’s eyes started to close, and Regina took a chance by sitting down in the rocking chair, trying not to be still for too long. Ellie opened her watery eyes, but was quickly soothed back down when Regina found a good rhythm rocking slowly back and forth in the chair. She never took her hands away from Ellie’s back, and eventually she felt the girl’s breath even out, and she was able to stop rocking. She didn’t dare stand up, though, so instead she magicked the foot stool over, carefully maneuvering her feet up onto it. She checked to make sure the baby was still asleep, which she was, and then Regina finally closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep herself.

 

***

She woke up in the morning to Emma lifting Ellie carefully out of the sling that was still tied around her. Regina was frankly shocked she’d been able to sleep there for so long, and apparently hadn’t woken up when Ellie did. Or maybe Emma had woken the baby up, too. She blinked up at her wife in the early morning sunlight.

“Morning,” she croaked. 

“Good morning,” Emma said with a broad smile. “I wondered what had happened to the rest of my family when I woke up alone.”

“I’m sorry,” Regina started to say, but Emma stopped her.

“Kidding, Regina. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to have slept through the night after yesterday. Thank you for taking her.”

Regina stretched her arms and rolled her shoulders before prying herself out of the chair. It was definitely going to be a rough day after a short night sleeping sitting up with a baby strapped to her chest.

“Do you want to sit with me while I feed her?” Emma asked from her spot on the couch.

Regina considered. As much as she loved early morning cuddly feeding times, she needed to get her head in order for the day, and she was still bothered by her thoughts from last night.

“I think I need to take a shower and get ready on my own today,” she said quietly.

“OK, whatever you need, babe.” Emma reached out a hand to her, and Regina willingly let herself be pulled down for a sweet good morning kiss. She laid her forehead on Emma’s for a second longer before standing up and walking upstairs.

In the shower she thought back to that question she’d asked - do I love Ellie more than Henry? It still made her uncomfortable, but there was another question lying just beneath the surface as well. As she shampooed her hair, it gradually worked its way up and into her conscious mind: Will I make the same mistakes with her as I did with him? She stopped what she was doing and stood under the spray for a minute. Then she took a deep breath and told her to finish washing up, knowing what she needed to do.

Emma was making breakfast when she got downstairs, with Ellie was sitting contentedly in her carrier, watching her mother move around the kitchen. Regina went up behind Emma and wrapped her arms around her.

“I need to talk,” she murmured into her wife’s hair.

Emma put down the spatula she was holding and turned around, catching Regina in a tight hug. 

“I’m all yours as soon as these eggs are done,” she said, and turned back to the stove. Regina started to walk away, but Emma said gently, “You don’t have to go anywhere.” Regina smiled and returned to her place behind her wife, laying her head on her back. That same glowing love she’d felt last night with their daughter settled into her heart again this morning as she stood there, drawing comfort just from being here with Emma.

Emma dished out two plates of eggs and gestured for Regina to join her at the table. She pulled their chairs close and very deliberately put her ankles on either side of Regina’s under the table. Regina felt tears prickle in the corner of her eyes. Her wife knew her so well. She needed to feel safe, but not stifled when she had these kinds of hard conversations, and Emma’s light physical contact with just their ankles was perfect. 

“I had a lot of time last night to think about my reactions yesterday,” Regina started, looking down at her plate.

“Mm-hm,” Emma hummed encouragingly.

“And I guess …” she hesitated, trying to find the right words, and then she just let it all out in one long string of fearful confessions. “I looked at Ellie last night, and Emma, all I feel for her is love and care and joy, and I just remember that when Henry was her age, I didn’t feel any of that. I was so focused on making everything perfect for him, but I don’t know if I ever just looked at him and loved him the way I do with Ellie. And I failed him, Emma. I failed him so many times, and what if I fail Ellie like that? What if I can’t be the mother she needs me to be? That you need me to be?”

By this point Regina was crying, and she put her head in her hands to try to stop the sobs that threatened to escape. Emma put down her fork and just stroked Regina’s hair gently. She didn’t say anything for several long minutes, until Regina had cried herself out and looked up at her. Emma lovingly wiped her wife’s eyes and then pushed her chair back.

“Come here,” she said, taking Regina’s hand.

Regina sniffed again, but stood up and let herself be pulled down to sit on Emma’s lap.

“Do you remember when we decided to have a baby?” she asked. Regina nodded.

“You asked me exactly that question,” Emma continued, “whether I wanted a do-over for having made mistakes with Henry. And do you remember what I said?”

Regina shrugged. She did, but she needed to hear Emma say it.

“I said I wanted the chance to make different mistakes with another kid, and to make them with you.”

Regina bit her lip as Emma found her hand and intertwined their fingers.

“You know what I think?” Emma continued. “I think that over the years since Henry was born, you learned to love, really love. And now you get to shower our little girl with that love, and she’s going to grow up knowing that she means the world to her family. I also know that Henry knows you love him like that, too. He might not have known that all the time, but he absolutely knows it now. And so do I.”

Regina sighed and nodded. “I know,” she whispered. “I’m just … scared.”

Emma tightened her grip on Regina’s waist. “I know, babe. And guess what? I am too. I’ve never done this part before, and I really don’t want to mess it up. But luckily I have you. And you have me. We’re not going to let each other screw it up too badly, right?”

Regina managed a chuckle at that and nodded. “I suppose that’s true.”

“It is true,” Emma said decidedly. 

They stayed tangled in each other’s arms for a while longer, and Regina felt her panic subside by degrees. Eventually she sat up and kissed Emma firmly.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

Emma kissed her again before answering “You’re welcome. Thank you for trusting me.”

“Oh, Emma,” Regina breathed. “I’ve never trusted anyone like this before. You … you make me feel so safe.”

Emma took her hand again and pressed her lips to it. “I love you,” she said.

“And I love you,” Regina replied. 

 

Regina had Ellie for most of the day, and she found herself smiling and singing softly to her the whole morning. Talking to Emma had lifted a weight off of her heart. Even if she could still think of a million ways she might screw things up, she had remembered that she wasn’t alone with her fears, and she was going to do everything in her power to love and care for this tiny baby in front of her, who looked so much like her beloved wife and their almost-grown son. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for taking so long to finish this! But here is an extra-long chapter to make up for it. :)

Regina stepped out of the shower and winced. She could hear Ellie screaming from downstairs - that high pitched wail that made her eardrums spasm and tried every single last shred of patience she had. She sighed. It was Emma’s week to make breakfast, and frankly Regina was hoping that whatever temper tantrum was happening downstairs would be done by the time she got there. Ellie was 2 and a half, and oh boy had she ever grown into the terrible 2’s. 

Henry had been the same way, and Regina saw it coming from the moment their precious daughter started to push her hands away while getting dressed in the morning, declaring that she was a big girl and could choose her own clothes. Late at night when Ellie was asleep and it was just her and Emma in bed, Regina admitted that a part of her adored how stubborn their little girl was. Obviously it drove her to distraction at times, but she would so much rather be raising a girl who could think for herself than one that acquiesced to everything. Emma agreed, and so they found ways to encourage her independence when it didn’t involve screaming.

This morning, however, was turning out to be one of those days where everyone got under everyone else’s skin and fights were pretty much inevitable. Regina sighed as she buckled her shoes, smoothed her skirt, and prepared herself for the chaos downstairs.

“Nooooooooo!” Ellie was shouting, tears rolling down her face. “I wanted to do it myself!”

“Eleanor sit down,” Emma shouted right back at her. “We don’t have time for this. I already told you, we’re late and you need to let me make breakfast.”

Regina smiled sympathetically at her wife and kissed her cheek.

Emma sighed distractedly. “Hey, babe.”

“Good morning. Can I help?”

“Just make sure she gets her shoes on. I’ll make sure she eats, if I have to force it into her mouth,” she muttered under her breath.

Regina glanced up. Emma lost her patience with Ellie’s tantrums sometimes, they both did. But something in her defeated glare made Regina wonder if something else was wrong. But she went about preparing coffee and picking at the plate of fruit and toast Emma had made for her. Emma went back to convincing their daughter to eat, and Regina went out into the hallway to get her shoes and coat. Probably best to try to get the shoes on while she was still secure in her high chair, given how upset she already was this morning.

As she turned to go back into the kitchen, she heard a clatter and then Emma bellowing at the top of her lungs, “Ellie! What the hell!”

“Emma!” Regina warned as she hurried into the kitchen. The bowl of cereal was on the ground, milk splattered everywhere, and Emma was turning red with the effort of keeping it together.

“You know what?” Emma shouted, “I’m done. You can take it from here.” 

And with that, she grabbed her jacket off the rack and stormed out, slamming the door. Regina blinked at the door for a couple of seconds, not quite processing what had just happened. And then Ellie began to wail, and Regina took a deep breath before turning around to comfort her daughter. She lifted her out of the high chair and sat her on the counter, whispering little soothing phrases the whole time. Eventually the girl’s pitiful cries slowed to the occasional hiccup, and Regina was able to go and clean up the mess on the ground.

“Mama?” Ellie said in a small voice.

“Yes, my sweet?”

“Where did Mommie go?”

Regina sighed. “She needed to take a walk to help her to stop being so angry.” She sincerely hoped that’s what Emma was doing, and not something stupid. She ignored that thought, though, and turned back to Ellie.

“Ellie, did you mean to knock the bowl down?”

Ellie sniffed and shook her head, looking like she was about to start crying again.

“Because when we’re upset, we need to use our words,” Regina continued, “and say that we’re upset, instead of acting out.” Like her mother just did, Regina thought, but didn’t say. 

“OK,” Ellie whispered.

Regina kissed her forehead. “There’s my girl,” she said. “Now, it’s time for you to go to Grandpa and Grandma’s house so Mama can go to work, OK? Let’s get your shoes on.”

 

***

Regina didn’t hear from Emma all morning. When she finally showed up at Regina’s office at 11, Regina told her assistant she was taking an early lunch and led Emma outside so they could take a walk. She didn’t need her assistant listening to the conversation they were about to have. Emma took her hand as soon as they got outside, and Regina let her, even though she had worked herself up into a state halfway between angry and worried all morning. 

Emma looked at her apologetically. “I’m really sorry, Regina,” she said as soon as they were around the corner from town hall. “I shouldn’t have walked out on you like that.”

“No, you shouldn’t have,” Regina snapped. She took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. Emma could tell she was angry - no need to make it worse by saying something she’d regret. 

“Look,” she tried again, “I get that it’s frustrating. Goodness knows I’ve had to stop myself from shouting at her when she gets like that. But leaving like that? That’s just not fair, Emma.”

“I know,” Emma said quietly.

“You can’t just assume that I’ll take care of everything and not even ask me to. And then I didn’t hear from you for hours,” Regina continued, needing to make sure her wife knew that this was about more than just leaving her with their screaming child. “I was worried about you, but I was also angry, and I spent all morning convincing myself not to call you.”

Emma hung her head. “I’m so sorry, Regina. I didn’t even think about that.”

“I know. Otherwise you would have told me what’s going on.” Regina sighed. “Talk to me, Emma. I know you’re struggling, and I can’t help if you don’t talk to me.”

They walked in silence for a few minutes. Regina could feel Emma gearing up to say something, so she waited. Eventually Emma let out a huff and started talking.

“I do want to tell you what’s going on, but I think it’s going to come out wrong. Can you just promise to hear me out and try to listen to what mean, even if I don’t say it right?”

Regina nodded, trying to calm the worry that was starting to creep up her spine.

“I’ve just been feeling really … trapped lately,” Emma continued, “Like everything got to be too much, and I have no idea how to handle it. And I can’t walk away. Before Ellie... I mean, it’s not like I ever really considered leaving, but now I just know that I can’t, and sometimes that makes me feel stifled and like I can’t breathe.”

She ducked her head and looked at Regina. “That’s the part you have to pretend came out better,” she said quietly. “I don’t really want to leave. I’m just, I don’t know, restless, or something.”

Regina forgot to breathe for a second, and she held tight to Emma’s hand. Emma stopped walking and turned to her, pulling her into her arms.

“I’m so sorry, Regina,” she whispered as she held on tight. “I’m not leaving you, and I’m not leaving Ellie. Please, you have to know how much I love you and that this is just me being me and dealing with my bullshit.”

Regina closed her eyes and focused on the feel of her wife’s arms holding her waist. They’d had this conversation before, and she knew that it was just Emma’s instincts kicking in and telling her to run. Much the same way that her own instincts were telling her to push Emma away before she got hurt. But they’d talked about this. And they both knew how to override those instincts. So Regina found it in her to do what Emma asked, and see through the way she said things to what she really meant - Emma was feeling overwhelmed and was asking for help.

“I hear you, Emma” Regina said as lovingly as she could. “I know you’re not going to leave. Just like I know that even though what you said scared me, I’m not going to push you away.” She stepped back so she could look her wife in the eyes. “Remember? That isn’t what we do anymore.”

Emma nodded, tears starting to well up in her eyes, and Regina pulled her back into her arms. Emma buried her face in Regina’s neck as she tried to get her emotions under control. Regina just held on tight, as much for her own reassurance as for Emma’s. She was going to have to work hard to forget those words her wife had said, even though she knew what she meant by them. Emma stood up and wiped her face on her sleeve before kissing Regina’s cheek tenderly.

“Thank you for understanding,” she said quietly.

Regina nodded. “I do understand, Emma. I’m still a little upset, but I understand.”

“That makes sense. Can I make it up to you?”

Regina gave her a small smile. “You can explain to our daughter why storming out isn’t the right thing to do when you’re angry.”

Emma laughed and shook her head. “Yeah. Yeah, that’s definitely what I need to do. How about I pick her up this afternoon and do that before you get home? Then we can all make dinner together.”

“I’d like that,” Regina said. She twirled a strand of Emma’s hair around her finger, an idea forming in her head. “What would you say to some time alone? Just you and me. It’s been too long since we had that.”

Emma took her hand and kissed it. “Yes please,” she said. “And Regina, please don’t fixate on what I said. It’s so not about you.”

Regina nodded. “I’ll try to let it go,” she said, and meant it.

 

***

Arranging everything for an entire two days away took heroic efforts, but Regina had managed to make it happen. After talking it through, she and Emma realized that really what they needed was a break: time to just be together, and not be parents or mayor or sheriff or anything else either of them was. To just be Regina and Emma. So they arranged an overnight trip out of Storybrooke, and to Emma’s complete shock Regina had suggested they go to Portland. Regina had decided she didn’t want to think about anything once they were on vacation, so she opted for a Bed and Breakfast in a neighborhood with lots of bars and restaurants, as well as a park and places to wander around outside. Emma was happy to tag along to anything her wife decided would be fun, so they packed up the car and prepared to spend 36 hours away from all of their responsibilities.

Saying goodbye to Ellie was harder than either of them had anticipated, though. The little girl clung to Emma and cried when they left her at Snow and David’s house. Regina felt her heart lurch, despite knowing that Ellie loved to stay with her grandparents. This was the first time they’d be out of town, though. Emma looked at her like she was about to back out, and so Regina stepped in and pried Ellie off of her. She squeezed her tight and kissed her cheek while Ellie continued to cry.

“It’s time for us to go, little one,” she said, walking towards Snow. “I love you so much, and I can’t wait to come back and see you tomorrow night.”

Emma followed along and rubbed Ellie’s back as Regina passed her to Snow. “I love you, kiddo,” she said with more confidence than Regina expected. “Have fun with Grandma and Grandpa.”

Ellie continued to howl, and Snow told them just to go. It would only get better once Ellie had settled down, and she couldn’t do that with them there. Regina took Emma’s hand and led her to the car. 

“You OK?” she asked as she turned onto the main road.

“Yeah,” Emma said, though her tone betrayed her. “I mean, no, not really. But I will be,” Emma corrected.

Regina rubbed her knee. “I know this probably doesn’t help, but I love that it was hard for you to leave her.”

Emma chuckled. “Evidence that I’m not actually going to cut and run?” she asked.

“Something like that,” Regina replied. And with that, they were back on track. They gradually fell into a natural rhythm of conversation, and Regina realized how long it had been since they’d talked for this long without mentioning their daughter, their son, or work. This was a good idea, she thought.

 

***

Regina sank down onto the plush bed of their room at the B&B, and Emma plopped down next to her, then grabbed Regina around the waist and pulled her down on top of her. Regina squealed and giggled like she only did around her wife, and soon they were sharing sweet kisses, their hands roaming languidly over each other’s bodies. Eventually, Emma rolled her off to one side, tangling their legs together and settling her hand on Regina’s back underneath her shirt.

“So what’s the plan for the evening?” Emma asked as she started to trace her hand up and down Regina’s spine.

“Well, I thought we could - oh, that feels good - go out to dinner,” Regina tried to focus on what she’d planned, but Emma’s hands were making that nearly impossible. “And then - hmmmmm - Emma, you’re being distracting.”

Emma bent to nuzzle into her neck, kissing her way up and down the sensitive skin. “Do you want me to stop?” she asked.

“No,” Regina breathed. “No, don’t stop.”

Emma chuckled and resumed her ministrations. “So?” she said between kisses. “Dinner out?”

Regina groaned. Emma was going to tease her all night - she could already tell. And Regina was going to love it. So she sighed and played along.

“Yes, dinner out,” she said breathlessly as she tangled her fingers in her wife’s hair. “And then we’re going out dancing.”

At that Emma stopped what she was doing and jerked her head up. “What?” she asked. “Really?”

Regina grinned. She had been waiting for the right time to reveal this particular gem of an idea, and she knew she’d found it. “Mmm-hmm. There’s a bar down the street that I think you’ll really like.”

Emma sat up and looked at her, a huge smile on her face. “You never cease to amaze me, Regina Mills,” she said before grabbing her again and pulling her down.

 

***

The look on Emma’s face when they walked into one of two gay bars in Portland was worth every ounce of effort it had taken to get them here. Regina glanced around at the place, but really she just watched Emma, who was gazing around her in delight. 

“It looks exactly like the first gay bar I ever went to,” Emma said, squeezing her hand. “I ever tell you about that place in Minnesota? I was 17 and bought a fake ID off some guy I knew and used it to go to this little place called The Wild Spot. It was seedy as hell but it was fun.”

“Well I’m glad you like it,” Regina said.

Emma pulled her hand towards the bar. “Come on, Madame Mayor. Let me buy you a drink.”

Regina grinned. Oh, she’d missed this side of her wife - that playful, giddy lover who had won her heart. She’d seen this side of Emma come out a few times since Ellie was born, but less often than she’d like. It was a combination of being tired and just focused on parenting, and it wasn’t always a bad thing, either. Regina quite enjoyed the serious discussions about child rearing and the quiet days at home making food and playing with Ellie. And she loved the way they most often touched each other now - slow and loving and reverent. But a part of her missed the wild passion from when they’d first gotten together. Back then they couldn’t keep their hands off each other, and would find any excuse to sneak off to a dark corner to kiss and caress, and, on quite a few occasions, find their hands down each other’s pants. Their sex life had evolved since then, and Regina certainly wasn’t complaining. But it was going to be fun to let loose tonight. She had every intention of working Emma up as far as she could before finally giving in to their desire. And she could tell by the glint in her wife’s eyes that she had the same idea.

Emma got them a round of shots, which Regina picked up with a grimace.

“Bottoms up, babe,” Emma encouraged. She held her shot glace out for a toast. “To our family,” she said with a wink.

Regina laughed. “To our family.” She took the shot, shaking her head as the alcohol burned down her throat. But once it was down, the warmth spread through her body and she rolled her shoulders back. The point of this was to let it all go. And she had every intention of doing that. She held out her hand to Emma.

“Dance with me,” she said.

Emma grabbed her hand and pulled her onto the dance floor. There were only about 15 other people out there, but in such a small space it felt like a party. Emma immediately pulled Regina to her, and tucked her hands into the back pockets of the black jeans Regina had decided to wear in favor of something more formal. Regina was instantly glad she’d made that choice as her wife’s hands molded around her backside in the most tantalizing way. She melted into her and swayed her hips in time to the music. 

“I love you so much, Regina,” Emma said into her ear. “Thank you for tonight.”

“You’re very welcome,” Regina replied. “Anything for you.”

Emma kissed her then, hungrily, and Regina moaned into her mouth. Either they weren’t going to last long at this bar or she was in for the most exquisite torture this evening. The music changed, and Emma, along with a few other people on the dance floor, cheered at the song choice. She pulled her hands out of Regina’s pockets in order to dance more freely. Regina laughed and let herself be twirled around. Eventually, she found herself lost in the music and the feel of Emma’s body. They danced and laughed and kissed and danced some more until she was ready to collapse. She insisted they take a break and went to get them some water while Emma ordered another round of drinks.

When she got back to the bar, she found Emma talking to two older women. Caution tinged with jealousy reared up, but when Emma saw her and exclaimed “There she is!” Regina just smiled and let herself relax. Emma was just friendly to everyone, and if she was honest, she adored the way Emma showed her off in situations like this.

Emma pulled Regina into her side and tucked her arm around her waist. “This is my wife, Regina.”

The women introduced themselves, and Regina nodded politely at them. She was barely paying attention, though, as she was distracted by the feel of Emma’s sweaty skin sticking to her thin T-shirt. Regina could practically taste that salty skin, and she longed to run her tongue up and down Emma’s ribs. But she could wait. It would undoubtedly be worth it.

“So are you two new in town?” One of the women was saying.

Emma shook her head. “Just visiting. We live in a little town up north. Regina’s the Mayor.”

Regina smiled and declined to point out that Emma was the Sheriff. Instead she just nodded along.

“The mayor! Well isn’t that something? A small town with a lesbian mayor?” the other woman said. “I’ll drink to that!”

They raised their glasses and she and Emma did the same, sharing a look as they did so.

“So what brings you to Portland?” the first woman asked. Regina thought her name was Nancy, but she hadn’t paid enough attention to be sure.

“We’re just here on vacation,” Regina replied.

“Yup,” said Emma. “We left our 2-year-old with my parents for the weekend and hit the road.”

The women laughed. “Well in that case, let me buy you another drink,” the one who was definitely not called Nancy and might have been Janet said. “I’ve got 3 kids. And you two need a drink.”

Regina couldn’t argue with that. The four of them toasted to the joys and woes of parenting, and shared a good laugh about the incident at breakfast that had driven Regina to plan this weekend get-away in the first place. Regina wasn’t one for conversations with random people, but she had to admit that it was thoroughly enjoyable to have these women commiserate. Eventually, though, she tugged on Emma’s elbow. 

“I want to go dance again,” she said.

“The lady wants a dance,” Emma repeated, and Regina realized that without quite noticing it, her wife had gotten drunk. As they stumbled into the crowd, holding onto each other, though, she realized that in fact, she might be as well. And more than that, she didn’t care one bit.

Regina wrapped her arms around her wife’s waist and pulled her close. Her fingers danced under the hem of her shirt, and then down just an inch or two below the waistline of her jeans. Emma sighed and pressed herself closer. Regina pulled one hand around to the front to splay on Emma’s belly. She knew Emma didn’t believe her, but she very much preferred her wife’s figure now that she’d gained 15 or 20 pounds. Sure, her toned abs and slight frame had been appealing, but Regina loved the way Emma’s hips had filled out, and the curve of her belly was just right. She slipped her hands up under her shirt and pressed her palm into Emma’s stomach. Emma groaned and sought out her lips, locking them in a kiss that left Regina absolutely breathless.

Emma returned her hands to Regina’s back pockets, and Regina pushed a thigh between her wife’s legs, grinding her hips up to where she could feel that Emma was hot and wet. Emma pulled one hand out of her pocket to trace up her body, and Regina tilted her head back in appreciation of the shivers that ran up her spine at the light touch. Emma took the opportunity to latch her lips onto Regina’s neck, sucking hard enough that Regina assumed she’d have a bruise the next day. But she didn’t care. In fact, she welcomed it, wanting to chase down every bit of sensation she could.

“Emma,” she moaned. “I want you so badly.”

Emma let out a growl and tugged her closer. “Not as badly as I want you,” she husked into Regina’s ear. If Regina wasn’t already soaking wet the tone of her wife’s voice would have done it right then.

“Let’s go,” she said. 

Emma agreed.

They waved to the older couple, who were still sitting at the bar, and walked the few blocks back to the B&B, giggling and teasing each other like teenagers the whole time.

 

When they got into their room, Emma immediately took charge, pushing Regina back against the door and kissing her with a passion that made Regina’s toes curl and her knees buckle. Emma started to pull her clothes off of her, only breaking the kiss when she had to to get something off. When she’d gotten her down to just her bra and panties, Emma took a step back to pull her own jeans and shirt off. Regina stood back against the cool wood of the door, admiring the view. Emma slowed down when she got to her bra, and Regina licked her lips as she followed every movement of her wife’s hands as they slowly stripped the elastic off, revealing rounded breasts that made Regina practically pant with want. Emma saw her reaction, and brought her hands up to kneed her own breasts a couple of times before turning around and slowly inching her panties over her delectable ass and down her muscular legs. Regina bit her lip as she watched, but moaned out loud when she realized that Emma was so wet, she could see it from two feet away. 

“See something you like?” Emma teased.

Regina rolled her eyes. “Get over here, Swan,” she said. Emma laughed and did just that, reaching around to unhook Regina’s bra and slowly pull it off of her. By the time she’d finished doing the same with the panties, Regina was ready to combust from want. She grabbed Emma roughly by the shoulders and crashed their lips together, drinking in the pleased moans they both let out. Regina traced her hands down Emma’s back and curled her fingers into her ass, pulling her close.

“God, Regina,” Emma gasped, and Regina chuckled. 

She bent and finally got to do what she’d been wanting to all evening - run her tongue along her wife’s skin. She licked across her collarbone and left open-mouthed kisses on her chest before leaning farther down and wrapping her lips around one of Emma’s taut nipples. Emma groaned and grabbed her hair to keep her right where she was. Regina licked and sucked and nuzzled into her breasts, delighting in the way Emma pressed her into the wall with her hips, arching back to give Regina access to her breasts. 

Eventually Emma stood back up, pulling Regina in for another long and sloppy kiss. Regina grabbed a handful of Emma’s hair and tugged on it, bringing her wife’s mouth back down to her neck. Regina could never get enough of Emma’s lips on her neck. In fact, the times that she’d come the hardest were when Emma was fucking her with her fingers while sucking on her neck. She’d had to wear a lot of scarves to cover up the hickeys when they first started sleeping together. Good thing she’d thought ahead and brought one for tomorrow.

“I love how you taste,” Emma murmured between kisses. “And I want more,” she added, looking up with a wicked grin. Regina dropped her head back to the door as Emma slid down her body. She widened her stance a little and rested her hands on her wife’s head as Emma trailed her lips down Regina’s chest and belly, over her hip bones and then finally between her thighs. Emma didn’t bother with working her up, probably since she’d been doing that since the moment they arrived in town. Instead she just flicked her tongue out and licked a long swipe up and down Regina’s soaking wet sex. 

“Ohhhhh, Emma,” Regina breathed.

Her wife knew just what she liked, and pretty soon Regina was panting and grinding her hips up against Emma’s mouth as she licked and nipped at her folds, teasing her clit just enough before sucking on it in earnest. Regina was barely holding herself upright at this point. Her chest was heaving and her legs started to shake as she felt her orgasm building. She came with a cry, and immediately lost her footing, sliding down the wall and into Emma’s arms, who tried to catch her as best she could. They lay in a tangled pile of limbs on the ground while Regina moaned and shook with a couple of intense aftershocks. She wasn’t done, not by a long shot, but after so much teasing and wanting, she’d come hard, and it was good.

Regina looked up to find Emma grinning at her, a very self-satisfied look on her face. 

“What are you grinning about?” Regina grumbled good-naturedly.

“You,” Emma replied.

Regina laughed and pushed her face away playfully. “Help me up,” she said as she tried to get her limbs to work again. When it was harder than it should have been, she remembered they’d been drinking, and started to giggle. If you couldn’t remember that you were drunk, that meant you were really drunk, right? She giggled harder at the thought.

“What?” Emma asked as she hoisted Regina to her feet.

“I think I’m drunk,” Regina laughed. 

Emma kissed her cheek. “I think you are, too,” she said. Her face got serious for a moment. “Are you OK to keep going?”

Regina cupped her wife’s cheek and gazed at her lovingly. “Yes, my darling,” she said. “Thank you for asking. I’m OK, though. Just a little unsteady on my feet.”

Emma’s grin returned. “Are you sure that isn’t because of the orgasm I just gave you?”

Regina blushed. “Maybe a little bit of both.”

Emma put her arms around Regina’s hips and pulled. Regina got the hint and jumped up, wrapping her legs around Emma’s waist. Emma was so strong, and Regina loved when she carried her around like this. She kissed her wife’s cheek as Emma walked them over to the bed, lowering her down as slowly as she could. Regina ended up on her back underneath her wife, and she gratefully pulled her even closer. She loved having Emma’s weight on top of her, and she quickly attached her lips to any part of her skin that she could reach. Emma sighed above her, and Regina slid her hand between their bodies. She found Emma’s folds and slipped her fingers in, swirling around the wetness she found there. 

“Fuuuuck,” Emma breathed.

Regina tapped her hip with her other hand. “Sit up and spread your legs for me,” she whispered. Emma groaned. She’d told Regina many times that she loved to talk during sex, and little by little Regina had gotten more comfortable doing it. She still couldn’t be quite as explicit as Emma, but she enjoyed her wife’s reaction to verbal cues enough to keep doing it. Emma dutifully got herself up on her knees, her legs spread as she straddled Regina’s stomach. Regina pushed one finger into her wife, a slow smile spreading across her face as Emma closed her eyes and moaned.

“More. Please, babe,” Emma said breathlessly.

Regina bit her lip and added another finger, pushing in easily. She started a rhythm that Emma matched with the thrust of her hips, and pretty soon Emma was asking for more again. Regina added a third finger, and pushed in as far as she could go. Emma’s breath hitched, and when Regina found her clit with her thumb, she knew she wouldn’t last long. Sure enough, Emma bucked against her hand a few more times and then came with a long drawn-out groan before collapsing down onto Regina’s chest. Regina left her fingers where they were and wrapped her other arm tight around her waist.

“My Emma,” she whispered. “I love watching you like this.”

“Regina,” Emma whispered back. “Oh, Regina. I’m yours. Completely.”

Regina took a breath, the sincerity of Emma’s words catching her off guard. Emma looked up. 

“You know I’ve been yours since the first time you kissed me,” she said, and Regina felt her heart glowing.

“As have I,” Regina replied.

They kissed, and Regina knew if they were in Storybrooke, their magic would have been swirling around them. But they were out here in the world, and their magic was lying dormant within them. Nevertheless, the love between them was palpable, and Regina sank into the kiss. It didn’t take long for it to become passionate again, though, and as it did she twitched her fingers, which were still buried inside her wife. Emma gasped and rolled her hips forward. 

“Do you want more?” Regina asked, already knowing the answer.

“Yes,” Emma groaned. “Please.”

Regina pulled her fingers out, making Emma whine in protest. She put her fingers to her lips to stop her.

“I brought some toys,” she said with a sly smile.

Emma’s eyes widened. “You did?”

Regina nodded. 

“Did you bring the strap-on?” Emma asked.

Regina nodded again.

“You’re perfect in every way, Regina,” Emma laughed. “Do you know that?”

Regina blushed and scooted out from under her wife to go to her bag and get the toy in question. She fitted the harness around her pelvis, squirted some lube into one hand, and climbed back onto the bed. Emma watched in rapt attention as she lubed the dildo up and then crawled towards her. 

“Sit up against the headboard,” Regina said in a low voice, her tone almost commanding. Emma pushed herself backwards and put a pillow behind her lower back before spreading her legs wide. Regina smiled at her, and then bent to bury her face in her pussy for a few minutes. By the time she came up for air, Emma was panting and writhing.

“Ready?” Regina asked.

“Fuck, yes!” Emma replied.

Regina grinned and crawled up towards her, picking up her hips enough to pull her close. She pushed the dildo into her, slowly, and watched as Emma began to breath heavily, her eyes already closed. Regina pushed her hips forward gently, and when Emma moaned happily, she did it again and again until they were rocking against each other in a deliciously paced rhythm. Emma wrapped her legs around Regina’s back and sank down on the bed a little farther to get the toy as far in her as possible. Regina slid her hands under her ass and thrust harder. Emma let out a breathy moan at that, and Regina slowed down the pace, pushing as hard as she could each time. Emma grunted with each thrust, her hands clutching at Regina and wordlessly telling her to keep going.

When Emma’s moans started to turn into “yeses” Regina slid one hand between them to find her clit. When she found it, Emma twitched so violently, the dildo came out of her. They both laughed as Regina grabbed it and pushed it back in. This time she ghosted her fingers over Emma’s glistening folds a few times before touching her clit, and Emma bucked her hips in response, but without breaking the rhythm. Regina rubbed at her clit and pushed with her hips until Emma was mewling and crying out continuously, whispering Regina’s name over and over again. Then suddenly Emma tensed with a sharp intake of breath, and then she was shuddering and shaking, and letting out sounds that Regina didn’t even have words to describe. It was beyond hot, and Regina nearly came on the spot just listening to her wife’s cries. When Emma collapsed backwards on the bed, Regina went to pull the dildo out, but Emma stopped her with her hands.

“Wait,” she said quietly. “I’m not…”

“I know,” Regina hummed, and leaned over Emma’s chest, making sure her hips didn’t move from their spot. She kissed her ribs a few times, and then slowly licked the sweat off of her skin, something she never thought she’d want to do, but had discovered she loved in the last few years. Emma lay still, panting, and Regina slowly pushed her hips forward the tiniest bit. Emma’s breath hitched, and Regina smiled. She knew her wife well, and could tell that Emma was halfway between overstimulated and so turned on that she needed to come again. And Regina knew exactly how to walk that line with her.

She continued to run her tongue along Emma’s skin, and brought her thumbs up to rub careful circles over her nipples. Not too strong, but enough to make sure Emma felt it. Which, judging by the way she pushed her chest up, she did.

“One more?” Regina asked quietly. Emma nodded enthusiastically, and Regina pushed her hips forward again.

“Regina,” Emma keened. Regina bit her lip. Her body lit up at the sound of her name escaping Emma’s desperate lips, and she leaned down to capture those lips in a bruising kiss. She started to thrust her hips again, and Emma’s hips twitched upwards erratically to meet her. Suddenly, Emma gasped and her face contorted in what looked like pain, though, and Regina immediately stilled.

“Too much?” she asked.

“Maybe,” Emma responded. “God, I can’t even tell right now.”

Regina pushed her hair out of her face and kissed her sweetly on the cheek. “I’ve got you, my sweet Emma,” she whispered. “Come here.”

Regina held tight to Emma’s hips and gently rolled them over, making sure the dildo didn’t come out as they went. Emma smiled down at her before leaning in and kissing her lips tenderly. Regina gently kneaded her fingers into Emma’s ass, encouraging her to roll her hips and get what she needed. She watched in awe as her wife began to swirl her pelvis around, moving the dildo inside her in exactly the way that would get her that last bit of release she was chasing. 

“Yes, Emma,” Regina encouraged, too enraptured by the sight to care how desperate she sounded. “Fuck yourself on top of me, just like that.”

Emma groaned loudly at her words. “Fuck, Regina,” she breathed. “Say it again.”

Regina swallowed any embarrassment and let herself give voice to everything she was thinking, loving the way it spurred Emma on as she grinded herself on her.

“I love to watch you fuck yourself,” Regina said, gaining momentum as she spoke. “The way you push yourself onto that dildo - I can feel it pressing into me, too.”

Emma started to lower her hips harder, and Regina’s breath sped up. The harness was in fact hitting her in exactly the right spott, and she was starting to feel that familiar tingling in her limbs.

“Don’t stop, Emma. Make me feel it. Make me come with you.”

“Regina,” Emma said as she started to really ride her, “Regina.” She repeated her wife’s name over and over again, getting louder each time until she was bouncing hard on the toy and practically screaming.

And then Regina felt her orgasm start to rise, and she pushed her hips up to get that last bit of friction. The action sent Emma over the edge, too, and they moaned and cried out and clutched each other in delicious ecstasy. Emma rolled off of her as she came down from her high, and curled into Regina’s side. Regina lifted up a shaky arm to wrap around her wife’s shoulders, pulling her close. They lay there panting as the minutes ticked by, quietly catching their breath.

“Gina,” Emma breathed, and Regina smiled. Emma only called her that after sex, and really, only after particularly good sex when her mouth couldn’t quite form her full name.

“Em,” Regina replied in turn, and Emma laughed breathily. 

“Yeah,” she said, and went back to just breathing.

Eventually Regina realized that she was desperately parched and her hand had fallen asleep under Emma’s head. She shifted and groaned. “Baby, I need to get some water,” she said.

Emma chuckled. “Mmmmm, that good huh?”

Regina groaned again. “Let me up,” she said.

Emma rolled off of her and pushed herself up to sitting, then helped Regina get up. They both stood, and Emma helped Regina unbuckle the harness before stumbling off to the bathroom to get them both some water. Regina sat back down on the bed and gulped the water down. Emma refilled the glasses before she returned and pulled Regina down and under the covers. Regina wrapped her arms and legs around her wife and burrowed her head into her shoulder.

“That was incredible,” she whispered.

“It really was,” Emma whispered back. “You never call me baby. I must have done something right.”

Regina thought back. She had said that, hadn’t she? She smiled. “And you called me Gina,” she replied. 

“Mmmmm, true,” Emma hummed. “This was … everything tonight,” she said.

Regina just sighed in response. Her eyes closed, and she very easily and very happily drifted off to sleep in her wife’s arms.

 

***

She awoke the next morning to Emma climbing back in bed. Regina hadn’t noticed her leave, and had no idea what time it was. Her head was a little foggy from the alcohol, but her body still felt satisfied and calm. She reached for Emma, who pulled her in close.

“Good morning, my love,” Regina said sleepily.

“Good morning, my perfect, wonderful wife,” Emma said, punctuating each word with a kiss. 

Regina smiled up at her and pulled her in for a real kiss. Which she prompted ended, making a face.

“Ugh. We’re disgusting,” she said. 

Emma laughed heartily. “Can’t argue with that,” she said. “Want to take a shower together?”

“Mmmmm, yes,” Regina said, but made no attempt to move. “It’s so quiet,” she whispered after a moment.

Emma snuggled closer to her. “I know,” she said. “It’s kind of weird.”

Regina looked over at her with a grin. “You miss her, don’t you?” she asked. Ellie almost always woke them up on weekends by jumping on their bed and singing or telling them some story she’d thought up the night before. It was a delightful, if energetic, way to wake up, and Regina had to admit she was missing it a little bit right now, too.

Emma ducked her head sheepishly and nodded. “Yeah.”

Regina kissed her forehead. “Good,” she said. “That was the point, after all.”

Emma looked up at her. “To make me miss our daughter?”

“Well, yes. You were frustrated, and feeling overwhelmed. Now you’ve gotten to relax, and you realize how much you love what we have, even when it’s hard.”

Emma pouted, but Regina saw that she was pleased. “You tricked me,” Emma grumbled, and Regina laughed.

“Yes, I did. And you loved every minute of it.”

Emma’s face softened. “You’re right, I did.” She pulled Regina close and nuzzled into her neck. “This was exactly what I needed. I’ve missed this - us waking up all sweaty and tangled up together.”

“Mmmmm, me too, my love.”

“You know, we don’t have to go away for the weekend to do this.”

“True,” Regina conceded, “but it certainly was nice to be as loud as we wanted.”

Emma blushed. “Yeah, I really hope we don’t run into any of the other guests this morning.”

Regina laughed. “Don’t worry. I’ll stare them down for you if they even think of saying anything.”

“I love you,” Emma said with a laugh.

“I love you more,” Regina countered, and pushed the covers off of them. “Shower?”

 

***

“Mommie!” Ellie yelled and ran for them the minute Snow opened the door. 

“Ellie Bellie!” Emma yelled back and bent to scoop her up. She turned so Regina could join their hug.

“I missed you, little one,” Regina said as she kissed her hair, which looked a lot more wild than when they’d left. She’d have to instruct Snow on how to care for it next time. Ellie’s hair was thick and unruly, and it tickled her face as she held her daughter close.

“Did you two have a good time?” Snow asked. 

Regina cursed her body as she fought to keep the blush down, thinking about the hours they’d spent in bed both the night before and again this morning. 

“We did,” Emma replied, saving her from having to answer. She kissed Ellie’s cheek a couple of times. “But we missed our little Ellie Bellie.”

Ellie giggled and tightened her grip around Emma’s neck. 

“Hope she wasn’t too much of a handful,” Emma said over her shoulder to her mother.

“Not at all,” Snow replied. “In fact, once she settled down after you left we had a great time. David took her and Neal out fishing today.”

“Fishing?” Regina asked dubiously, but Ellie was already babbling at them about how much fun it was. Regina realized that they’d just gone down to the docks, and Ellie and Neal had spent most of their time playing together while David actually caught some fish.

They thanked Snow and David and went home with their little one talking excitedly the whole way. After dinner, they lay down on either side of their daughter in her little toddler bed while Emma read her a story. 

“Mama?” Ellie asked sleepily when it was done.

“Yes my love?” Regina replied.

“Can we go fishing tomorrow?”

Regina raised her eyebrows at Emma, who tried, unsuccessfully, to keep her laughter to herself. She was never going to let David off the hook for the introducing this particular obsession. Pun intended.

“We’ll see, my sweet,” Regina said as she tucked her in. “Now go to sleep, my precious little Ellie. I love you.” Ellie’s eyes closed as each of her mothers kissed her forehead in turn. 

“Goodnight, Ellie Bellie,” Emma whispered. “I love you.”

They turned out the light and crept out of the room and down the hall. Regina closed the door quietly and immediately pulled Emma into her arms.

“I love this,” she whispered into Emma’s hair.

“What’s that?” Emma asked.

“This,” Regina replied. “Our little family.”

“Mmhmmmm,” Emma hummed. “Me too.”

She started to sway to silent music, and Regina put her head on her shoulder as they moved. 

“Thank you for this weekend,” Emma said quietly. “It was exactly what I needed, and now there is absolutely nowhere else I would rather be.”

Regina looked up at her, then kissed her sweetly. “Through the joys and the sorrows of life,” she said, quoting their wedding vows.

Emma grinned. “Through fights and resolutions,” she recited.

“I will be by your side, standing together in love and commitment,” Regina finished.

“Until death do us part,” Emma whispered, and kissed her again.

And truly, it was the happiest Regina had ever been.


End file.
